Project description:BackgroundThe prevalence of obese and overweight patients has increased dramatically worldwide. Both are common risk factors for chronic kidney disease (CKD) as indicated by a diminished estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) or microalbuminuria. This study aimed to investigate whether anthropometric parameters [waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and body mass index (BMI)] are associated with renal function in a population-based study of Caucasian subjects.MethodsData from 3749 subjects (1825 women) aged 20 to 81 years from the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP) were analysed. Renal indices, including the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (uACR), microalbuminuria, eGFR and CKD, were studied. Parameters of anthropometry (WC, WHtR and BMI) were categorised into sex-specific quintiles.ResultsAnalysis of variance (ANOVA) models, adjusting for age, sex, type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension, revealed that a high and low WC or WHtR and low BMI were independently related to a higher uACR. Logistic regression models confirmed these results with respect to uACR and showed that subjects with a high or low WC or a high WHtR had increased odds of microalbuminuria. The ANOVA models revealed no relations of the investigated anthropometric parameters with eGFR. However, subjects with high values for these parameters had increased odds of CKD.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate U-shaped associations between markers of central fat distribution and uACR or microalbuminuria in the general population, suggesting that both obese and very thin subjects have a higher risk of renal impairment.
Project description:IntroductionThe association between microalbuminuria and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is accumulating in various patient populations. However, when stratified by sex, the relationship between microalbuminuria and CVD remains unclear.MethodWe obtained data from the 2011-2014 and 2019-2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Microalbuminuria was measured based on spot urine albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR). The Framingham risk score (FRS) model was implemented to evaluate the CVD risk. Linear and logistic regression models were used to identify the associations of microalbuminuria status with cardiometabolic predictors and CVD status determined by the FRS score.ResultsAmong 19,340 representative Korean participants, the (UACR) in Korean women and men with history of CVD was higher than in those without history of CVD. Among patients without history of CVD, multivariate regression analysis showed that a high UACR was related to older age, lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, higher total cholesterol level, higher systolic blood pressure, higher prevalence of current smoking, higher prevalence of diabetes, and higher anti-hypertensive medication use in both women and men. The UACR showed a positive linear correlation with the Framingham risk score in both women and men.ConclusionThe presence of microalbuminuria was significantly associated with the cardiometabolic risk factors and the increased risk of CVD evaluated by FRS model in both women and men in a nationally representative sample of Korea.
Project description:BackgroundThe urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) is an important indicator of albuminuria. We aimed to estimate ACR uncertainty and its impact on test results and proposed imprecision quality goals based on the estimated uncertainty.MethodsThe combined ACR uncertainty was calculated using the individual uncertainties of urinary albumin and creatinine. ACR confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated based on the expanded uncertainty. When the CI contained the ACR category boundary (30 or 300 mg/g), the cases were considered ambiguous. Quality goals for ACR were suggested using the number of ambiguous cases among actual patient results.ResultsThe number of ambiguous cases resulting from the combined ACR uncertainty was higher than expected based on biological variation (BV) quality goals. When the ACR met BV quality specifications, we estimated that 4.8-15.5% of the results may have been misclassified. To minimize the number of ambiguous results, the minimum, desirable, and optimum quality goals were set at 34.0%, 18.0%, and 4.5%, respectively.ConclusionsWe expressed ACR uncertainty using the uncertainties of urinary albumin and creatinine and assessed the impact of this combined uncertainty on the test results. Subsequently, we proposed imprecision quality goals for ACR based on ambiguous results.
Project description:ABSTRACT Background The longitudinal relationship of albuminuria with incident frailty remains unknown. Therefore we aimed to evaluate the relation of albuminuria with the risk of incident frailty in older adults. Methods A total of 1115 participants ≥65 years of age (average age 80.3 years) who were free of frailty in the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey were included. The outcome was incident frailty, defined as a frailty index ≥0.25 during follow-up. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the association of the urinary albumin:creatinine ratio (UACR) with frailty. Results During a median follow-up duration of 5.3 years, 295 (26.5%) participants developed incident frailty. Overall, the UACR was significantly positively associated with the risk of incident frailty (P for trend = 0.005), with a significantly higher risk of incident frailty in participants in the quartile 4 of UACR {≥13.43 mg/g; hazard ratio [HR] 1.64 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.13–2.37]} compared with those in quartile 1 (<0.73 mg/g). Consistently, when UACRs were assessed as clinical categories, compared with participants with UACR <10 mg/g, those with UACR ≥30 mg/g had a higher HR of incident frailty [HR 1.61 (95% CI 1.17–2.20)]. Accounting for the competing risk of death also did not substantially change the results. In addition, a stronger positive association between UACR and incident frailty was found in those with a higher high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level (hs-CRP) (P for interaction = 0.045). Conclusion Albuminuria was positively associated with the risk of incident frailty, particularly in those with higher hs-CRP, emphasizing the importance of managing both albuminuria and inflammation for primary prevention of frailty.
Project description:An increased urinary albumin excretion rate is an important early risk factor for chronic kidney disease and other major outcomes and is usually measured using the urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (ACR). Obesity is highly prevalent in the general and chronic kidney disease populations and is an independent risk factor for moderately increased albuminuria (henceforth, moderate albuminuria). In this review, we describe how the ACR was developed and used to define moderate albuminuria. We then investigate how biases related to urinary creatinine excretion are introduced into the ACR measurement and how the use of the 30-mg/g threshold decreases the performance of the test in populations with higher muscle mass, with a primary focus on why and how this occurs in the obese population. The discussion then raises several strategies that can be used to mitigate such bias. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the medical literature on the uses and limitations of ACR in individuals with obesity and critically assesses related issues. It also raises into question the widely accepted 30-mg/g threshold as universally adequate for the diagnosis of moderate albuminuria. The implications of our review are relevant for clinicians, epidemiologists, and clinical trialists.
Project description:ImportanceAlthough cumulative evidence suggests that elevated urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) in the normal range (<30 mg/g) may be associated with an increased risk of mortality, few studies have investigated whether cardiovascular health (CVH) modifies the harmful outcomes of high-normal UACR.ObjectiveTo investigate associations of traditionally normal UACR and CVH with all-cause mortality.Design, setting, and participantsThis cohort study used National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 2005 through 2018 and linked mortality information until 2019. Data were analyzed from March 1 through October 31, 2023. The study included adult participants aged 20 to 79 years with a normal UACR (<30 mg/g) based on Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes criteria.ExposuresThe UACR was treated as a continuous variable and categorized into tertiles delineated as low (<4.67 mg/g), medium (4.67-7.67 mg/g), and high (7.68 to <30 mg/g). Cardiovascular health was assessed using Life's Essential 8 scores and grouped as poor (0-49 points), moderate (50-79 points), and ideal (80-100 points).Main outcomes and measuresMultivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for associations of UACR with all-cause mortality in total participants and as stratified by CVH groups.ResultsThe study included 23 697 participants (mean [SD] age, 45.58 [15.44] years; 11 806 women [49.7%] and 11 891 men [50.3%]). During the median 7.8 years (range, 4.5-11.1 years) of follow-up, 1403 deaths were recorded. Near-linear associations were observed for continuous UACR and CVH with all-cause mortality. Compared with the low UACR group, high UACR in the normal range showed an increased mortality risk in the moderate and poor CVH groups (CVH [50-79]: HR, 1.54 [95% CI, 1.26-1.89]; CVH [0-49]: HR, 1.56 [95% CI, 1.10-2.20]), with a significant multiplicative interaction of UACR and CVH (P < .001).Conclusions and relevanceThe findings suggest that high UACR within the normal range is associated with a significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality, with the association more pronounced in adults with poor CVH status. These findings highlight the importance of risk management for early kidney dysfunction, particularly among individuals with poor CVH.
Project description:Raised albumin-creatinine ratio (ACR) is an indicator of microvascular damage and renal disease. We aimed to identify genetic variants associated with raised ACR and study the implications of carrying multiple ACR-raising alleles with metabolic and vascular-related disease. We performed a genome-wide association study of ACR using 437 027 individuals from the UK Biobank in the discovery phase, 54 527 more than previous studies, and followed up our findings in independent studies. We identified 62 independent associations with ACR across 56 loci (P < 5 × 10-8), of which 20 were not previously reported. Pathway analyses and the identification of 20 of the 62 variants (at r2 > 0.8) coinciding with signals for at least 16 related metabolic and vascular traits, suggested multiple pathways leading to raised ACR levels. After excluding variants at the CUBN locus, known to alter ACR via effects on renal absorption, an ACR genetic risk score was associated with a higher risk of hypertension, and less strongly, type 2 diabetes and stroke. For some rare genotype combinations at the CUBN locus, most individuals had ACR levels above the microalbuminuria clinical threshold. Contrary to our hypothesis, individuals carrying more CUBN ACR-raising alleles, and above the clinical threshold, had a higher frequency of vascular disease. The CUBN allele effects on ACR were twice as strong in people with diabetes-a result robust to an optimization-algorithm approach to simulating interactions, validating previously reported gene-diabetes interactions (P ≤ 4 × 10-5). In conclusion, a variety of genetic mechanisms and traits contribute to variation in ACR.
Project description:The authors evaluated the relationship of hypertensive target organ damage to masked hypertension assessed by ambulatory blood pressure (BP) and home blood pressure (HBP) monitoring in 129 participants without taking antihypertensive medication. Masked hypertension was defined as office BP < or =140/90 mm Hg and 24-hour ambulatory BP > or =130/80 mm Hg. The masked hypertensive participants defined by 24-hour ambulatory BP (n=13) had a higher serum glucose level (126 vs 96 mg/dL, P=.001) and urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (38.0 vs 7.5 mg/gCr, P<.001) than the normotensive participants (n=74); however, these relationships were not observed when the authors defined groups using HBP (> or =135/85 mm Hg). Masked hypertension by both 24-hour ambulatory BP and HBP had a higher urinary albumin-creatinine ratio than normotension by both 24-hour ambulatory BP and HBP (62.1 vs 7.4 mg/gCr, P=.001), and than masked hypertension by HBP alone (9.3 mg/gCr, P=.009). Masked hypertension defined by 24-hour ambulatory BP is associated with an increased serum glucose level and urinary albumin-creatinine ratio, but these relationships are not observed in masked hypertension defined by HBP.
Project description:BackgroundChronic kidney disease is one of the most common complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), causing an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity has been proposed as useful biomarker for diabetic renal and vascular complications.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among T2DM patients who attended a public secondary hospital in Mexico. We performed clinical, biochemical, and microbiological assessments, as well chronic kidney disease diagnosis according to the KDIGO guideline. Urinary MMP-9 was quantified by ELISA and adjusted using urinary creatinine (UCr).ResultsA total of 111 patients were included. Most participants were women (66%). Mean age was 61 ± 10 years and median T2DM duration was estimated at 11 years. Through multivariate analysis, MMP-9/UCr was found to be associated with albumin concentration and albumin to creatinine ratio.DiscussionValidation of non-invasive biomarkers of chronic kidney disease among T2DM patients is necessary. Here, we demonstrate MMP-9/UCr as a potential biomarker of albumin concentration and albumin to creatinine ratio in Mexican patients with T2DM.
Project description:Aims and objectivesTo determine utilization of spot urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (UACR) to predict subsequent development of preeclampsia, measured between 17 and 24 weeks of gestational age in asymptomatic antenatal woman and determine their maternal and neonatal outcomes.IntroductionIn preeclampsia the basic pathology is generalized endothelial dysfunction. It causes glomerular endotheliosis which leads to proteinuria, decreased glomerular filtration rate and renal blood flow. Thus microalbuminuria is an early marker which can measured to predict preeclampsia.Materials and methodsIt is a prospective observational study, carried out for one year in a cohort of asymptomatic antenatal women at 17-24 weeks of gestational age, attending hospital for routine antenatal check-up with a singleton pregnancy and no associated complications. Urine albumin and creatinine ratio (UACR) is measured at first visit, and women were followed till delivery and the maternal and foetal outcomes were recorded.ResultsOut of 81 pregnant women enrolled in the study, 58% belonged to 18-25 years, 54.3% belonged to lower middle class. There was a significant difference in mean UACR among women who developed preeclampsia (PE) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) with p value < 0.05. In the study there was significant association between severe PE, PE and GDM with UACR at 22 as cut-off, with p value < 0.05. In the study among those with UACR > 22, 2.5% had IUFD, 12.5% had LBW, and 7.5% were admitted to NICU.ConclusionWith the measurement of spot UACR in mid-trimester we can predict the development of preeclampsia before the onset of clinical manifestations. UACR > = 171 mg/g predicted preeclampsia well before the onset of clinical manifestations with high sensitivity of 83.3% and specificity of 98.6%.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13224-023-01862-9.